Remove Communication Barriers Research Articles

Communication Barriers to Implementation of Family-Centered Care from Perspective of Mothers and Personnel of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study

Background: Positive communication between staff and parents is considered a basic principle for the successful implementation of family-centered care (FCC) and the formation of a good relationship between parents and neonates. Moreover, involvement in care depends on the communication and interaction of parents with healthcare providers, and cooperation between them leads to high-quality care for neonates. However, interaction and communication are still considered major challenges in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment. Since these challenges and communication barriers are different in various cultures and environments, they should be identified in the field. A literature review shows that no study has assessed the views of different members of the treatment team and parents on communication barriers in Iran. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the communication barriers related to personnel and parents for implementing FCC from the perspective of parents, physicians, nurses, and nursing managers. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in 2021 - 2022 using the conventional content analysis approach in a NICU in Tehran, Iran. In this study, 26 semi-structured interviews and 10 field notes were used to collect data to reach data saturation. Results: Data analysis led to the emergence of two themes. The first theme was the unprofessional relationships of personnel, including two main categories of inappropriate professional behavior and lack of attention to personnel and working conditions of the ward. The second theme was mutually ineffective relationships between personnel and parents, including two main categories of the inappropriate attitude of personnel and parents toward each other and unsympathetic communication between personnel and parents. The themes showed the participants’ experiences of communication barriers to the implementation of FCC in NICUs in Iran. Conclusions: Removing communication barriers between healthcare providers and parents requires developing a coherent, comprehensive, and unified training program to prepare and create integrated coordination among the treatment team and the family, creating a positive attitude toward FCC and the presence of parents, improving relationships, and giving further attention and support by managers to personnel and the conditions of the ward.

Vision-Based American Sign Language Classification Approach via Deep Learning

Hearing-impaired is the disability of partial or total hearing loss that causes a significant problem for communication with other people in society. American Sign Language (ASL) is one of the sign languages that most commonly used language used by Hearing impaired communities to communicate with each other. In this paper, we proposed a simple deep learning model thataims to classify the American Sign Language letters as a step in a path for removing communication barriers that are related to disabilities.

Analysis of the Russian youth slang by native Chinese

With the development of technology and information, language has changed as well. It is no longer important to follow the literary norm. It is important to be able to communicate effectively and to remove communication barriers. Russian students studying in China or Chinese students studying in Russia use slang or fancy words in the intercultural conununication. Russian youth slang as a specific linguistic phenomenon has attracted an increasing number of researchers. Among them are scientists, undergraduates and graduate students, as well as teachers of the Russian language. People are interested in this linguistic phenomenon because of its specificity and linguistic fashion for slang lexical units. When analyzing a foreign language (e.g., Russian), native speakers of Chinese use the same or similar linguistic phenomena for a comparative analysis. This article aims to compare lexical units of modern Russian youth slang with Chinese ones. The article concludes that language fashion exists in both language systems.

On Board: Interdisciplinary Team Member Perspectives of How Patients With Heart Failure and Their Families Navigate Hospice Care.

Hospice agencies serve an expanding population of patients with varying disease conditions and sociodemographic characteristics. Patients with heart failure represent a growing share of hospice deaths in the United States. However, limited research has explored the perspectives of hospice interdisciplinary team members regarding how patients with heart failure and their families navigate hospice care. We sought to address this research gap by conducting qualitative interviews with hospice interdisciplinary team members at a large, not-for-profit hospice agency in New York City (N = 32). Five overarching themes from these interviews were identified regarding components that members of the hospice interdisciplinary team perceived as helping patients with heart failure and their families navigate hospice care. These themes included (1) "looking out: caregiving support in hospice care," (2) "what it really means: patient knowledge and understanding of hospice," (3) "on board: acceptance of death and alignment with hospice goals," (4) "on the same page: communication with the hospice team," and (5) "like a good student: symptom management and risk reduction practices." Interdisciplinary team members delineated several components that influence how patients with heart failure and their families navigate hospice services and communicate with care providers. Hospice agencies should consider policies for augmenting services among patients with heart failure to improve their understanding of hospice, supplement available caregiving supports for patients without them, and remove communication barriers.

Call Me Bob:: A Safety Culture Initiative to Improve Interprofessional Teamwork

Patient safety is the highest goal in any health care environment. However, individual practitioner efforts are not enough; high-functioning, collaborative teams are required to achieve desired results. Traditional physician culture has emphasized physician authority and individual responsibility, leading to power gradients and often disrupting effective communication. To address this, an initiative to help remove communication barriers and promote all team members' comfort with proactively speaking up about concerns was created in a major Midwest regional children's hospital. This process is now part of the organization's working culture and has the potential to enhance communication, collaboration, and safety in other health care organizations.

Stylistics Variation: Understanding Gay Lingo in Social Perspectives

Gay lingo is one of the languages commonly spoken by gays and their friends. It manifests linguistics traits that prevent non-speakers from interacting with its speakers. This qualitative research used a case study combined with discourse analysis through production task and elicitation to determine the background of gay lingo speakers, gay lexicon, coinage, social context, and social perspectives of gay lingo speaking. The researcher used semi-structured interviews and survey (using questionnaires) to gather data from purposively selected 12 (gay and non-gay) senior high students and teachers in a secondary school. The study found that the stylistics variation of gay lingo is in the word coinage through phonology, and morphological transformations, among others. The social context of gay lingo is to provide cover for sensual topics, to gossip, and to upscale one's status. For non-gays, gay lingo speaking is a means to remove communication barriers. Gays perceive gay lingo speaking of non-gays as affirmation. Discursive studies of gay lingo is needed, while studies on the effects of gay lingo on the mainstream language is also recommended.

Reasoning and learning in a digital economy. Technological challenges of the modern age

Rapid growth in the digital economy creates both additional opportunities and additional challenges for organizations. Artificial intelligence and robotics facilitate and automate a large number of human tasks. Today’s tools — “intelligent assistants” — in large part are capable of processing incoming information, which in the past was processed exclusively by humans. These changes will lead to a significant change in the labor market. Leaders in the new knowledge economy will differ not only in being aided by “intelligent assistants”, but also in how their employees interact with these tools and make complex decisions required for their work. The greater is the use of “intelligent assistants”, the more important will be the decisions that people will make between each other. Organization of continuous training of employees in effective communication is today an increasingly popular innovational strategy in companies. How do we remove communication barriers between employees, between teams, and between man and machine? This paper proposes a solution to the posed problem of ensuring the most effective communication using methods developed in physics of the mind and Dynamic Logic.

Enhancing Student's Learning and Satisfaction Through the Use of Social Media

Communication in and out the classroom is an essential component for education. As the technology emerges, there is a need to adopt to the new technologies to enhance students’ learning experience. Social media technologies provide informal communication methods that promote student engagement and satisfaction by removing communication barriers. In this paper, we report our experience in using different social media technologies to enhance students’ learning experience and satisfaction with the course. We perform our experiment in software project management course and conduct a survey to assess the students’ perspective towards using these different social media technologies in enhancing their learning and satisfaction. Results show that students are satisfied and feel that their learning experience has improved when using social media for class communication.

ENHANCING STUDENTS' LEARNING AND SATISFACTION THROUGH THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Communication in and out the classroom is an essential component for education. As the technology emerges, there is a need to adopt to the new technologies to enhance students’ learning experience. Social media technologies provide informal communication methods that promote student engagement and satisfaction by removing communication barriers. In this paper, we report our experience in using different social media technologies to enhance students’ learning experience and satisfaction with the course. We perform our experiment in software project management course and conduct a survey to assess the students’ perspective towards using these different social media technologies in enhancing their learning and satisfaction. Results show that students are satisfied and feel that their learning experience has improved when using social media for class communication.

Transforming Communications in the Workplace: The Impact of UC on Perceived Productivity in a Multi-national Corporation

Aim/Purpose: Unified Communications (UC) is touted as a technology that will transform business communication. While positive claims abound, the factors of UC attributable to its success have yet to be identified. By examining how users perceive UC impacts productivity, this study aids organizations in making better decisions regarding investments in and usage of communications technologies. Background: Unified Communications integrates disparate communications and information sharing applications into a single platform. The promise of UC is that it will revolutionize the workplace by providing a more synchronized fit between the way people communicate and the technology they use. Methodology: Through case study research conducted within a large multinational corporation (the Hewlett Packard Company), this study investigated the impact of UC on productivity. Interview narratives were examined using an open coding technique to capture individual perceptions of productivity. Further, to assess the role UC plays in facilitating relationship building and its connection to productivity, participant responses were mapped to the key factors of technology that influence relationships within an organization as identified by Dillon and Montano (2005). Contribution: This research contributes to studies on the impact of UC on productivity in the workplace. Findings UC was found to increase personal productivity, remove communication barriers, and create a more positive work environment. Recommendations for Practitioners : The findings of this study will aid organizations in making investment decisions as they evolve their business communications strategy. Impact on Society: Unified Communications will play an increasingly important role as people adapt to the evolving digital world through which they communicate and collaborate. Future Research: Little research exists that examines the impact of UC within an organization. Additional research investigating the use of UC in a variety of business sectors is needed.

Smartphone - A User-friendly Device to Deliver Affordable Healthcare - A Practical Paradigm

Introduction: The cutting edge Technology of the 21st generation has proven to relinquish major positive enhancements and has left a huge impact in modern day medicine and health care. The Smartphone is one of the most commonly used devices in communication. It’s rightly known as a “Handy-portal computer” which has made infinite contribution by its multitasked usages besides the specifically designed applications programmed to reach a quick and sound clinical decisions, these devices are also helping in health record maintenance, patient Management, education and training of healthcare professionals. This Journey of enhanced technology coverage with existing wisdom of the field can prove to be a major boon for mankind. Objective: To highlight the enhanced contribution of the Smartphone in today`s modern medicine by demonstrating the potential of technology and its future applications, be it for patient, implementation in healthcare and continuing medical education, for cross consultations, patient satisfaction, and removing communication barriers. Care has been taken to define and evaluate utility of evidence based technological advancements in the healthcare sector. Methodology: In this study, a systematic review of literature was done via Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for systematic review. Google scholar and MEDLINE were used to identify articles that discussed the utility design, development, evaluation, and utility of smartphone-based software for healthcare workers, professionals, medical or nursing students, or patients. A total of 59 articles discussing 88 applications were selected for this study from 2,934 articles initially obtained from the PubMed, scholar, and Medline searches. Conclusions: The role of this technology in medicine and healthcare is seen to be promising and technologically exciting to use. We have tried to analyze and discussed many smartphone/App-based healthcare applications that are available in the literature. We also had found that most of these applications are grouped as per the target users namely the clinicians, administrators, medical and nursing students. Further as these applications were originally not intended to replace old desktop based applications, but to add to existing pool of technologies for better healthcare. The functional uses of these Apps are growing every day. The enhanced mobile connectivity and communication between health care professionals have contributed to ease and validity of medical care besides monitoring, access to evidence based medicine which includes better diagnosis guides, drug references, literature search, and continuing medical education materials at the point of care. Further as easy access is provided to all authorized personal of records, this has resulted in remote consultation and telemedicine. Further, Apps like Netra performing visual acuity test is also viable using a smartphone. The easy and widespread adoption of these mobile health technologies by the general masses further emphasize the opportunity of better mHealth and mobile telemedicine services through patient oriented applications.

Caring for patients who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Patients who are deaf and hard of hearing often find the American healthcare system to be inaccessible due to communication barriers. This article describes facilities' and providers' requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide qualified interpreters and other assistive devices to patients who are deaf or hard of hearing. Removing communication barriers can protect healthcare providers from potential legal action and lets them deliver consistent, quality healthcare to all patients.

THE MOTIVES FOR ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND PREVENTION OF ITS ONSET IN MARIY EL REPUBLIC

Aim. To study the motives of student alcohol consumption in Mariy El republic and to create, according to the results, the relevant recommendations on prevention of alcoholization of studentship in educational institutions. Material and methods. Mass survey of learners (n=1209) of primary and higher educational institutions in Mariy El Republic. Multistage selection. At the first stage the selection was done from the educational institutions. At the second stage we selected focal student groups; inside the groups we performed total questioning. The proportion of the age and gender was followed. Survey was done with questionnaires. Results. Of participants 87,4% older than 14 y. already tasted alcohol. Of those 45% did it before their 15. 73,4% responders consume alcohol. Severe drunkenness experience periodically 48% of responders. 41,2% of those think that it is not bad to consume alcohol if not to overdrink. Students named a variety of motives for the first tasting of alcohol: interest, wish to have fun, wish to feel unusual, behaving as adults, wish to look more amateur, wish to relieve stress, to prove the identity in front of the same agers, to cure, to show a concern and respect, to celebrate an event. Current consumption motives can be classified as following: to move from the reality and life problems, to experience unusual feelings, to remove communication barriers, due to boredom and monotony, as a self-prove, to reach a specific emotional condition, as imitation of adults, to show social group, as a tradition, for treatment. Conclusion. Alcohol consumption is prevalent in students of Mariy El rebublic. There is a broad spectrum of motives for trying alcohol and continuing of consumption, that should be prevented by relevant preventive activities.

Maternal concerns about immunization over 0–24 month children: a qualitative research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the concerns of mothers referred to health center in south Tehran, Iran about immunizing children aged 0–24 months. Data were collected using individual semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. The mothers’ concerns over immunizing their children fell into 5 main categories: (1) “Factors that cause mothers’ concerns,” (2) “Factors that influence mothers’ concerns,” (3) “Information, education, and communication barriers,” (4) “Informational/educational needs and sources,” and (5) “The necessity of childhood vaccinations.” According to study findings, mothers consider immunizing children important and they have enough trust in the health system. A deep understanding of maternal concerns about immunizing their children at 0–24 months allows nurses to reduce mothers’ concerns by removing communication barriers and providing appropriate and adequate information.

Barriers and facilitators to effective communication experienced by patients with malignant lymphoma at all stages after diagnosis

This study aims to gain insight into patient-perceived communication barriers and facilitators at different stages after the diagnosis of malignant lymphoma. We have detected patterns to explain when these factors influence communication predominantly. A qualitative approach was applied, derived from the context mapping framework. A total of 28 patients completed a set of assignments about their experiences with provider-patient communication during medical consultations. Subsequently, these patients and nine companions shared their experiences during a semistructured (group) interview, which was recorded on audiotape. The audiotapes and assignments were analysed with MAXQDA software. From the patients' viewpoint, communicating effectively appears to depend on their own attributes (e.g. emotions), the health care professionals' attributes (e.g. attitude) and external factors (e.g. time pressure). Three patient communication states were identified: (i) overwhelmed, passive; (ii) pro-active, self-motivated; and (iii) proficient, empowered. Patients seem to behave differently in the three communication states. This study lists patient-perceived communication barriers and facilitators and identifies three different communication states, which indicate when certain barriers and facilitators are encountered. These findings may support health care professionals to tailor the provision of support and information and remove communication barriers accordingly. Additionally, they provide input for interventions to support patients in effective communication.

Conceptual Models for Infrastructure Leadership

AbstractIn policy and aspirational documents both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering have called for engineers of the 21st century to take a leading role in infrastructure discussions about and decisions. These discussions and decisions routinely involve stakeholders, constituencies, and organizations that are unfamiliar with traditional engineering modeling and analysis techniques; removing communication barriers is essential, but many find our engineering tools, methods, and explanations difficult to comprehend. Assuming a leadership role in these conversations requires engineers to adopt new conceptual models that enhance communication between people with dissimilar backgrounds and promote shared understanding. The West Point infrastructure models introduced in this paper provide engineers, decision makers, and members of society with a universal framework for understanding, visualizing, assessing, and describing complex infrastructure systems in a manner th...

Removing communication barriers at work

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the contribution made by this theme issue to the literature examining workforce diversity in the hospitality industry and methods that can be used to remediate communication barriers due to differences.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reviews some of the key contributions arising from this theme issue.FindingsThe summary highlights the research on workforce and diversity and communication barriers and discusses the implications of diversity for hospitality employers and researchers.Research limitations/implicationsDiversity is a modern day reality that brings challenges and opportunities to hospitality operators.Originality/valueThe research in this theme provides insight from both practitioner and academic perspectives as to how employers can remove communication barriers at the workplace.

Migraineurs' perceptions of and interactions with pharmacists: a qualitative study

Abstract Aims and objectives Migraine is an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition. Diagnosed and undiagnosed migraineurs come into frequent contact with pharmacists, who are in a unique position to intervene and potentially improve the therapeutic outcomes of migraineurs; however, little is known about migraineurs' attitudes towards pharmacists' roles and the experiences they have shared with pharmacists. The purpose of this study was to evaluate migraineurs' perceptions of the roles that pharmacists may play in helping them manage their disease. Setting Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Method The study employed the use of two focus groups of migraineurs from a university population, approached from a phenomenologic perspective. Focus-group sessions were conducted using a flexible interview guide. Focus-group content was digitally recorded, then transcribed, verified for accuracy and content analysed according to established criteria, employing the use of a formal coding procedure. Inductive analysis was performed to establish patterns, themes and categories in the data. Key findings Six principal themes emerged. Among the most important findings were that (1) migraineurs were concerned about managing their headaches and the impact migraine has on their lives and their families' lives, (2) migraineurs did not discuss their headaches or migraine therapy with pharmacists and (3) migraineurs believe that many communication barriers exist in their pharmacistpatient relationship. Conclusion Community pharmacists have an opportunity to impact the level of care provided to migraine sufferers. As such, community pharmacists should strive to remove communication barriers and be more proactive during interactions with these patients. Further study may examine how pharmacists can elicit more social support for migraineurs and to help migraineurs cope with their condition.

Communication barriers from nurses’ and elderly patients’ points of views at medical-surgical wards

Abstract Introduction: Communication is an inevitable aspect of nursing care of patients and the elderly and an essential factor in attaining positive aspect of treatment. Removing communication barriers can have a significant role in improving quality of care in the elderly and facilitating recovery of patients. Purpose: This descriptive study was conducted to determine communication barriers from nurses’ and elderly patients’ points of views at medical-surgical wards of hospitals affiliated to Isfihan Medical University. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire completed by was used for data collection. Subjects included 110 nurses and 110 elderly patients. The nurses and patients were selected by randomization and convenience sampling methods respectively. Different statistical tests were used for data analysis. Results: Communication barriers from nurses’ points of views included tiredness of nurses (%89.8), speaking too fast (%88.9), forgetfulness and weak memory of the elderly patient (%92.6), auditory and visual disorders (%89.8), badly injured patients in the wards (%97.2) and crowdedness of the wards. The points of views in the elderly patients mostly included lack of respect to their dignity (%98.2) and lack of attention to their questions (%93.6). Conclusion: With respect to the findings, nursing authorities should pay attention to the working condition of nurses and provide facilities for them. Nurses should be supported to be able to dedicate their time and energy for effective communication. In addition, continuing education programs regarding communication skills with the elderly and regular evaluation of these programs can be helpful. Geriatric nursing education should also be integrated in the baccalaureate program of nursing. Keywords: Communication barriers, Nurse, Patient, Old person.

Applying Population Health Models

In this issue of the Journal, guest editors Daniel Friedman and Barbara Starfield have gathered together and added their voices to an outstanding collection of articles on models for population health. Together, they ask: Do theory and models matter in the conduct of public health research and practice? As researchers involved in community-based public health interventions and programs in Harlem, New York City, our answer is a resounding “yes!” The salience of the population health perspectives presented in this issue is made manifest in relation to 2 of our current projects—namely, evaluation of the Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative and analysis of the Harlem Household Survey. Both projects were implicitly shaped by what we would now term a population health perspective, in that the health needs of entire communities are embraced and individual, neighborhood, and societal factors are considered important for health and well-being. The theory and models presented in this issue—by explicitly delineating components of population health frameworks and models—can aid such efforts by helping us to conceptualize the pathways through which various factors influence health, thereby suggesting points of intervention and questions to ask when obtaining or analyzing data. The Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative added a public health component to the longstanding work on school truancy and community-building of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc, and the community-based health service delivery efforts of the Department of Pediatrics of Harlem Hospital Center. Building upon a population-based survey of adults in Central Harlem (the Harlem Household Survey), our evaluation perspective was enriched by a history of community-based public health research at the Harlem Health Promotion Center. By embracing a holistic population health perspective, we were able to pull together work with children and with adults, in hospitals and in schools, in our current efforts. This meant shoring up a public hospital center (pediatric ward, emergency department, and clinic) and public school infrastructure with private funding and tailored programs to ensure that the needs of every child in the Harlem Children’s Zone Project are met. One of the things we are learning, according to Dr. Stephen Nicholas, Director of Pediatrics at Harlem Hospital Center, is that coming into people’s homes to deliver interventions helps to remove communication barriers between health care providers and families. In doing so, we hope to improve the health and well-being of all household members—children and adults alike—through home visits for education in medication usage, family-centered primary health care services, and home environmental interventions to remove asthma triggers. The population health perspective does more than encourage these kinds of linkages—it facilitates them. Further, it underscores the need for researchers to use multidisciplinary approaches, to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods, and to recognize the importance of lay knowledge and participatory research (Young TK. Population Health: Concepts and Methods. New York: Oxford University Press Inc; 1998). Steeped in the conduct of community-based research, we can thoughtfully assess which population health models are relevant to our experiences and consistent with our values. Applying population health models—with their emphasis on social processes and conditions—affords an opportunity to test whether interventions that address social inequalities will reduce gaping health disparities across and between populations.